Marvin Bower (August 1, 1903 – January 22, 2003) was an American business theorist and management consultant associated with

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

. Under Bower's leadership, McKinsey grew from a small engineering and accounting firm to a leader in the consulting industry. Bower, alongside Edwin G. Booz, is regarded one of the individuals most responsible for the rise of

management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultan ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

; he is considered by many to be the "father" of the modern consulting industry."

Biography

Bower was the son of the deputy recorder at

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S.-Canada maritime border. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1 ...

, and grew up in the Collinwood neighborhood of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

and attended Glenville High School. He earned his bachelor's degree in Economics and Psychology from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1925. His father advised him to study law, and Bower graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

in 1928. Bower then attended

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...

, graduating in 1930. Following completion of his studies, Bower worked as an associate at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue in Cleveland. In 1933, Bower was hired by

James O. McKinsey James Oscar McKinsey (June 4, 1889 – November 30, 1937) was an American accountant, management consultant, professor of accounting at the University of Chicago, and founder of McKinsey & Company.Flesher, Dale L. and Tonya K. Flesher.McKinsey, Ja ...

in the new

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

firm of James O. McKinsey & Company to manage a newly acquired branch in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Following McKinsey's death in 1937, the two offices split up and Bower resurrected the New York firm, with the assistance of New York partners, as

in 1939. He served as managing director from 1950 to 1967, and remained a leadership figure at McKinsey as director and partner until 1992. According to

, Bower "is considered the father of modern

" for his decades of work at McKinsey. Upon turning 60 years old, Bower sold his shares back to the firm at book value. This was an unusual step, as the book value of the shares was likely well below that of their market value. Bower's decision came as a surprise to many, including his family. "Let me just say there was a shock on people's faces when he told us that he was selling his shares back to McKinsey at book value," said his son Dick Bower. "It felt unbelievable, to tell you the truth. But that was Marvin for you." Bower is widely credited for leading the formation of the global

industry. His principled insistence on impeccable professional standards in substance, ethics, and style; his dedication to the professional development of his colleagues; and his candor, all served as a role model for several generations of management consultants, both within and outside McKinsey. He protested being named one by

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

as one of the top businesspeople of the 20th century on the grounds that he was a ''professional'', not a businessman.McDonald, pp. 204.

Publications

He published several books and articles, among them: * ''The Will to Manage: Corporate Success Through Programmed Management'' (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1966), * ''The Will to Lead: Running a Business With a Network of Leaders'' (Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Mass., 1997), * ''Perspective on McKinsey'' - internal McKinsey publication

References

External links

Marvin Bower: A Leader's Leader
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bower, Marvin 1903 births 2003 deaths American business theorists American consultants 20th-century American lawyers Brown University alumni Businesspeople from Cincinnati Businesspeople from Cleveland Glenville High School alumni Harvard Business School alumni Harvard Law School alumni Jones Day people McKinsey & Company people 20th-century American businesspeople

Biography

Publications

References

Further reading

External links